Ellis Shuman's Blog, page 22

August 27, 2020

Journey into Bulgarian History and a Thrilling Crime Story

For many readers in United States, Bulgaria is a strange and mysterious land. A small European country with around 7 million population, most of them speak Bulgarian, a major Slavic language after Russian and Ukrainian. Only recently attain its democracy 20 years ago, joined the European Union at 2007. For most American readers, Bulgaria would probably perceived as just an insignificant country in Europe.

Yet, Mr. Shuman, former Editor in Chief of Israel Insider and About.com’s Israel Culture Guide, told us how false our perception can be. In “Valley of Thracians”, we are guided into a wonderful journey into ancient Bulgarian history, a thrilling crime story and a memorable adventure.

“Valley of Thracians” starts with the quest of a retired literature professor , Simon Matthews, to find his missing grandson, Scott Matthews, in Bulgaria. He met Sophia, an attractive archeology professor who assists him through whole journey. Sophia vaguely remind me cryptologist Sophie Neveu in Robert Langdon’s “Da Vinci Code’. As a device, Sophia serves both as a romantic interest of Prof. Simon and provides reader much information of the historical knowledge of Bulgaria.

As the story unrolled, Shuman hints us Scott’s disappearance is related to a stolen Thracian treasure. This is when the plot thickened, more characters were introduced – the crippled, cunning and memorable Boris, also the patriarch of the host family of Scott. His sister, Katya, a pharmacologist with a mysterious motivation to protect Scot. The cruel and relentless gang boss, Nicholay. All of them are portrayed in detail and believable.

There were several surprising twists in the plot. For example, the readers were hinted early on that Scott’s disappearance was related to a Thracian treasure. But it leaves the readers wondering for 150 pages on why Scott was imprisoned. Shuman also cleverly camouflage the true motivation of Sophia of why she helps the Matthews by establishing a ersatz mutual attraction between Matthews and Sophia. Of course, we are all left to wonder a deeper question: Does the Thracians really has an advanced civilization? And what would the Thracian treasure connects to this civilization?

I found the Bulgarian history, the plot and the characters make the whole book a page turner.

Furthermore, the reader could feel a genuine grandfather-and-grandson relationship throughout the book, it was rare to see such a portrayal in modern day novels. It is perhaps even rarer to have a glimpse on Jewish Bulgarian lives in a foreign land. Shuman, as the editor of Israelite magazine, one online, one offline, and as a resident of Bulgaria for two years, he is in a unique position to tell us stories of Jewish Bulgarian.

All in all, if you like Dan Browns’ work such as “Da Vinci Code” or “Angels and Demons”, you will also like Mr. Shuman’s “Valley of Thracians”. I found it a gripping read and wish to see more work from Mr. Shuman in the future.

Originally posted on Julian Suave Book Review.

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Published on August 27, 2020 03:44

August 19, 2020

Review of 'Three' by D. A. Mishani

There are three women at the heart of Israeli crime writer D.A. Mishani’s new novel Three, translated by Jessica Cohen (Europa Editions, August 2020). Orna is a single mother raising a young son still traumatized by his parents’ divorce. Emilia is a live-in caregiver from Latvia who is trying to find herself after the elderly man she cared for died. And Ella is married, the mother of three, who is writing her university thesis. Three women with nothing in common, except for the same strange man who comes into their lives.

Orna meets Gil on a dating site for divorced singles. After online chats they meet up. Orna is surprised at how patient Gil is, at how he seems like he has all the time in the world to develop their connection. He doesn’t pressure her, and their phone conversations are so short that Orna wonders why they are talking on the phone at all. Still, they continue to talk and when they meet on a date it is Orna who suggests that they become intimate. Gil’s seeming reluctance to pursue their affair makes one curious as to why their relationship ends up the way it does.

Emilia needs to look for a job after 84-year-old Nachum dies. Nachum’s wife and children assure her that she can remain in her small room until she finds new work. A part-time position opens up, but Emilia would have to do it for cash, without permits. Nachum’s wife suggests that Emilia talk to her son Gil, a lawyer. Gil, she says, will make sure Emilia doesn’t get deported from Israel. Gil asks Emilia to clean his apartment and she agrees. In her free time, Emilia goes to church services, trying to find spiritual meaning to her life. She asks herself if she should go back to Latvia, but what she doesn’t ask herself is why she let herself fall under Gil’s spell.

Gil meets Ella, the third woman in this story, at the cafe where she sits down every day to work on her thesis. Unlike his affair with Orna, it is Gil who initiates this connection, suggesting they have lunch, suggesting that they go on a trip together. Ella considers that a bad idea; she can’t imagine cheating on her husband. Still, Ella becomes curious, both about the man she is meeting and about what she can and cannot do. Is she capable of pursuing her relationship with Gil? After all, where will it end?

The action of Three unfolds in three slow-moving acts. The storyline simmers, the tension heating up gradually to a boil. Readers expecting the pace of a typical police procedural crime thriller must instead be patient as Three’s plot makes its way, slowly and deliberately, to a twisted and surprising conclusion.

Mishani is well-known in Israel and abroad for his Detective Avraham Avraham crime series—three novels that have been widely translated and made into films and TV series. Three is a standalone novel, one that depicts Israeli lives with down-to-earth realism. Online dating, foreign caregivers, and the temptation of adulterous relations are presented realistically in a narrative that has been faithfully translated into English making for a truly entertaining and suspenseful reading experience.

D. A. Mishani is an Israeli crime writer, screenwriter, and literary scholar, specializing in the history of crime fiction. His first novel, The Missing File, was shortlisted in 2013 for the CWA International dagger award and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and won the prestigious Martin Beck award (for best crime novel translated to Swedish) and the Grand Prix du Meilleur Polar des lecteurs de Points in France. His second novel, A Possibility of Violence, won the prestigious Bernstein prize for best Israeli novel in 2014.

Jessica Cohen shared the 2017 Man Booker International Prize with author David Grossman for her translation of A Horse Walks into a Bar. She has translated works by Amos Oz, Etgar Keret, Dorit Rabinyan, Ronit Matalon, and Nir Baram.


Originally posted on The Times of Israel.


Related Articles:

Review of “The Missing File” by D. A. Mishani

Review of “A Possibility of Violence” by D.A. Mishani

Review of “The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything” by D.A. Mishani


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Published on August 19, 2020 05:50

July 28, 2020

The Volcano - short story

“You need to come home. Now.”

“I hear you,” I reply, holding the phone at a distance. Maya’s voice comes across the line at a higher decibel level than usual. “Are you sure you’re feeling contractions?”

“Daniel!” It is nearly a shout. “I know what this is and I know that you have to be on the next flight.”

“Alright,” I say, wondering if this isn’t another case of false labor, like the symptoms that sent us to the hospital prematurely just two weeks ago. “I will order my ticket for tonight.”

“I don’t know if I can last that long!”

It is early afternoon so there’s plenty of time to make a reservation. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be an empty seat on the plane. Not many people fly from Sofia to Tel Aviv in the middle of the week.

Read the rest of the story on The Bookends Review.

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Published on July 28, 2020 03:40

July 20, 2020

Why I Run


I get up every morning at 5 am. Am I crazy? Although I’ve always been an early morning person, these days I am working from home and can get up whenever I want. Yet here I am, getting out of bed before the sun rises in the sky.

And the reason I get up so early is so that I can run.

Last year, I ran the 10-kilometer race in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Marathons. I am not an athlete at all, nor a professional runner, but I ran those races.

At the time, daily visits to the gym and running, whether indoors on a treadmill or outdoors on weekends, were part of my routine. Unfortunately, a number of physical setbacks as well as the rising cost of gym membership threw me off course. It's only in recent weeks that I’ve begun running again.

So, why do I run? Here are a few of the reasons:

** When I run, I have quality me-time. Sometimes I need a break from work and even from family responsibilities. While running, I am totally on my own. Disconnected from others, connected to myself. The break is temporary, but it is truly appreciated.

** When I run, I achieve an elevated, stress-free state. No worries, no troubles. The pounding of my feet on the pavement clears my head.


** When I run, I have the opportunity to do some quality thinking. I write articles and plan stories in my head. I’ve even worked on my novels while running.

** When I run, I get physical exercise. Amazingly, I enjoy the aches and pains after a good run. But an added benefit of running is mental wellbeing. It’s a win-win situation.

** When I run, I’m not competing against anybody except myself. I am not striving to beat anyone to the finish line.

** When I run, I compare my achievements from one kilometer to the next. Hearing my pace announced as I run encourages me to run faster.


** When I run, I compare my achievements from one day to the next. I strive to run faster, farther. And if it’s not faster or farther, it doesn’t really matter. It’s the running that counts.

** When I run, I enjoy the early morning quiet. There is no one else around, no traffic on the road. I have my route to myself. (Except for the occasional boars that run across my path).

** When I run, I listen to music. Not only to playlists of my favorite artists. Spotify has introduced me to some very talented musicians and bands.

** When I run, I can stop at any time. There’s no one checking how long I’ve been running, or how far I’ve run.


** When I run, I come up with blog articles like this one.

Why do I run? It’s not for aesthetic reasons nor to stay in shape. It’s because I enjoy it.

Related articles:

Boar Meet

Tel Aviv Marathon Man: I Run the 10 Kilometer Race

Jerusalem Is Much Harder to Run than Tel Aviv

I Ran in the Jerusalem Marathon!
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Published on July 20, 2020 08:20

July 11, 2020

Boar Meet


I ran into a pack of wild boars the other day. Wild boars? Is there any other kind?

It was on one of my 5am runs that I encountered an adult boar and six piglets. The smaller creatures quickly vanished into the brush, but the adult turned to me and moved steadily forward. It grunted as it approached.

I have written about boars before, and how they became invited visitors on my moshav. The last time I saw boars was in the middle of the night a year ago, when two huge creatures ran across my path. But I knew they were still around.

Overturned garbage bins. Garbage on the street. Hoofprints in the garden. Uprooted plants. More garbage.

Metal gates were installed around the garbage bins on the street and along with my neighbors, a fence was constructed around our side-by-side gardens. With less food to entice them, hopefully the boars would just go away.

Why are there so many boars lately? There’s been a lot of construction in the foothills around Jerusalem – new neighborhoods and new roads. The less natural habitat available for the boars and other animals, the more they intrude into our lives. They are drawn to areas where people live.

Boars are a protected species in Israel. Municipal councils are not allowed to set out poison or attempt to kill them in any other way. And as neither Jews or Muslims eat boars or pigs, there are no incentives to hunt them for food.

This week, on one of my 5am runs, I heard something that sounded a bit like rain off to my left. The noise was loud – I heard it over the music played from my Spotify playlist. I glanced over a row of bushes and that’s where I saw them. A huge adult and six little piglets. And they were moving very quickly.

The animals crossed an empty lot and the six piglets vanished into the brush. I pulled out my phone and aimed it at the large adult. It turned to me and began to approach.


I snapped off a few photos as the adult grunted. It spun around and then followed its piglets, disappearing from view.

The next morning, I saw them again. This time there were two adults. A family, apparently.

You never know what you will encounter when running in the early hours of the day. Maybe I’ll meet the boars again. Maybe next time it will be a pack of jackals, as those animals are also abundant in the Jerusalem foothills.

With the boars gone, I put my phone back into the running belt around my waist and picked up the pace. There were still four kilometers to go on my run.

Related article:

Late Night Encounter with My New Neighbors

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Published on July 11, 2020 00:31

June 29, 2020

Sorry Americans, But You Just Won’t Understand This Hilarious Movie


You can be excused if you saw the Netflix film “ Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga ” and found the plot to be totally ridiculous. How could there ever be an international song competition with singers who care more about their outlandish appearance than about performing memorable songs?

But Eurovision really exists and this movie accurately presents the glitzy fanfare. As silly as it looks and sounds, Eurovision is serious stuff. After all, the competition introduced the world to Abba and Celine Dion. Broadcast all across Europe and elsewhere around the world, Eurovision is one of the most watched non-sporting events and attracts hundreds of millions of viewers.

Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams), competing on behalf of Iceland as the Fire Saga duo, are so stupidly innocent that you can’t help but love them. Ferrell's comedy is usually a bit much for me, but this time with his acting, singing and writing he nails it just right. He apparently was introduced to Eurovision by his Swedish wife and became fascinated with the competition.

Diehard Eurovision fans will relate to the actual Eurovision contestants from recent years who make cameo appearances, and sing, in the film. Netta (Israel), Alexander Ryback (Norway), Conchita Wurst (Austria), Salvador Sobral (Portugal) and Loreen (Sweden) may not be household names elsewhere, but in the Eurovision world, they are highly revered.

Do Eurovision contestants dress up like Vikings? Yes! Do they wear shiny leotards and get lifted miraculously off the stage? Yes! Do they sport full beards and yet show off the fanciest evening gowns? Absolutely! This is all part of the Eurovision magic.

Staged extravagantly every year by the European Broadcasting Union member countries since 1956, the 2020 competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's a shame but at least in a time when we need upbeat, hilarious, totally ridiculous shows most we can sit back and watch Eurovision. Let the show begin!
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Published on June 29, 2020 06:30

June 25, 2020

The New Normal?


Yesterday some 500 new cases of coronavirus were detected in Israel, the highest number since April. The number of cases keeps going up. Health Ministry officials warn us that we will soon have over a thousand new cases a day, higher than Israel’s peak in late March/early April.

The second wave of the disease seems to be a direct result of the re-opening of the Israeli economy. Life has returned to normal, but a new sort of normal. Things are different.

Many Israelis who lost their jobs because of the lockdown have yet to come back to work. Entire industries, such as tourism, see no light at the end of their tunnel. Citizens interviewed on television complain that they have no income, that they cannot survive on government benefits.

Not all Israelis are abiding by the rules. Not everyone wears a mask when in public, even though the fines for not doing so have been increased substantially. People are not maintaining social distancing. Restrictions are being ignored. Demonstrations, parties, celebrations, and more are possible sources of mass infections.

I find two things worrisome in our present situation. First, there is no one in our government who seems to know what to do. No central authority to lead us through this crisis. Instead of focusing on our health and economy, our country’s leaders are discussing whether the prime minister should get retroactive tax benefits. Whether Israel should annex territories when Israelis have no money to put food on their tables.

The second thing I find worrisome is the lack of worry among the public. Instead of the panic that accompanied the first wave of the disease, which kept us in total lockdown, this time around we’ve resumed our daily routines. We go shopping, eat in restaurants, crowd the beaches and the parks, and soon theaters and cinemas will be frequented as well. OK, so we grudgingly wear a mask where necessary but we can live like this.

We could be in a freefall. Things could get worse before they get better. Do we care? I should hope so! Does our leadership care? I’m not all that sure.

Stay safe out there!

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Published on June 25, 2020 02:31

June 13, 2020

I Am Looking for My Next Book to Read


Here’s the deal: Having self-published two novels and a collection of short stories, I know how difficult it is for new authors to find readers and get reviews for their books. I want to help!

I am looking for a novel/s to buy and read. I will endeavor to post an honest review (on my blog, on Amazon, on social media). Honest review. This means clearly stating if I like or don’t like the book; what works in the book and what doesn’t; and whether it’s well-written (no spelling and/or grammar errors).

I am interested in a Kindle digital book that I can purchase and download from Amazon.

If you’re looking for a buyer/reader/reviewer – quite possibly you’ve come to the right place!

Here’s what to do: See if your novel fits into the genres I read and if so, pitch it to me in the comments on this page.

I enjoy reading:
* Suspense / Thrillers
* Crime / Detective / Mystery
* Novels in unusual settings and countries
* Literary fiction
* Anything related to Israel
* Anything related to Bulgaria


I am NOT interested in reading:
* Young Adult
* Dystopian fiction
* Fantasy / Paranormal
* Science fiction
* Horror
* Women’s fiction / Chick lit / Romance
* Books with a religious theme
* Graphic novels

I support indie writers, self-published authors, and the writing community. So, what are you waiting for? Comment and pitch me your book!

Photo by Daniel Cañibano on Unsplash

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Published on June 13, 2020 04:07

June 2, 2020

Hristo Botev Day


Today in Bulgaria is Hristo Botev Day, honoring the 19th century revolutionary and poet widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero. The day also honors all those who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of Bulgaria.(Hristo Botev statue in Vratsa, taken on our visit in April 2009.)
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Published on June 02, 2020 02:34

May 26, 2020

Review of Apeirogon by Colum McCann

"An absorbing tale of hope and love against very great odds"

I recently finished reading an amazing novel by Irish author Colum McCann.  Apeirogon is rooted in the unlikely real-life friendship born of tragedy between two fathers - one Israeli and one Palestinian. Together, through their painful stories, these two men seek to forge a path towards empathy, compassion, and hope for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

I never got around to writing a review of this very worthy book so I'll leave it to my good friend, Ranen Omer-Sherman. The following review is posted with his permission.

*-*-*
While there may never be a truly definitive study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the award-winning Irish writer Colum McCann’s astonishingly good Apeirogon surely succeeds more than most when it comes to creating an empathic, morally and aesthetically imaginative portrayal of the extent to which this tragedy has wreaked havoc on innocent human beings on both sides.


Rami Elhanan, an Israeli graphic designer, and Bassam Aramin, a scholar and former political prisoner, were loving parents whose worlds were torn viciously apart when their daughters became the victims of horrific violence. While it is unclear what drew McCann to their entwined stories of unbearable loss, there is no doubt that he succeeds brilliantly in capturing the complexity and humanity of his subjects. Structured as a compilation of 1001 interwoven fragments (some as short as a sentence) which often serve as a midrashic commentary on transcripts of the deeply revealing interviews the author conducted with Bassam and Rami (these appear at the heart of the book in their original form) that illuminate both life in Israel and under Occupation these often seem to perform a meditative or even musical function.

Boldly traversing disparate realms such as the Song of Songs, cinema, the Himalayan highlands, medieval art, languages, a song by Prince, and most of all birds and their migrations, McCann convincingly reveals the invisible yet essential connections between all beings.  Nonlinear, circling back on itself, and ever-expanding, this labyrinthine novel (its title, which derives from the Greek word for “boundless” refers to a shape with a countably infinite number of sides, brilliantly captures the essence of the author’s approach) constantly tests the very possibilities of the form and in doing so ignites the reader’s imagination.

But most importantly, McCann’s stylistic daring never distracts us from the plainspoken nobility and moral bravery of the two grieving fathers whose intimate friendship and support for one another over many years (the two have frequently spoken together around the world as tireless opponents of the occupation and champions of peace) becomes an absorbing tale of hope and love against very great odds. And of what it means to challenge and overcome the dangerous mythologies of one’s tribe.

There are also gripping anecdotes concerning the tenuous origins of the groups Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle, especially those like Rami, raised in a bubble of Zionist self-righteousness and ignorance about the daily lives of Palestinians. What emerges most memorably are the poignant details of the close relationships between the men and their young daughters (eerily, the girls seem to have shared many of the same passions and quirks).

In the aftermath of tragedy, both families remain strong, and though this is very much an indelible portrait of two men, the mothers of Abir and Smadar are never forgotten and McCann diligently captures the reality of their lives throughout. For example, while both women support their husbands’ crusading public efforts against the Occupation and on behalf of coexistence, in her unrelenting grief Salwa Aramin “wanted only to pursue the ordinary. She would find blessing there…Even years after Abir’s death, the sellers in the marketplace still dropped a little extra in her shopping bag: a pear, a pinch more spice, some dates. She left the market with her bags overflowing.”

McCann is a generous, tender and inquisitive storyteller and his poetic prose glimmers with glimmering, sometimes startling imagery. Apeirogon’s fragmentary narrative teaches us how the broken pieces might yet make us whole. Written in mesmerizing, haunting detail, even Apeirogon’s most dreamlike, surreal descriptions and imagery are always firmly grounded in the real, producing an unforgettable tapestry of life and death.

Revealing the hidden connections between such a staggering array of histories and identities as imaginatively as McCann has, readers would be hard pressed to find a more sustaining fulfillment of E.M. Forster’s imperative, “Only connect!” McCann’s deep immersion in the enduring pain and triumphant moral vision of his subjects clearly transformed his own life and Apeirogon is that rare, truly essential book whose unsettling power will leave you feeling utterly transformed in turn.

Ranen Omer-Sherman is the JHFE Endowed Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Louisville and coeditor of Narratives of Dissent: War in Contemporary Israeli Arts and Culture.

A version of this review previously appeared on the Jewish Book Council.

Buy Apeirogon and read it now!

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Published on May 26, 2020 03:35